My vegetable vendor brought home some fresh red sorrel leaves this morning. Prepared a rice dish on the lines of tamarind rice and use sorrel leaves as the main ingredient to provide the tart flavor. A unique Andhra favorite among the ‘gongura’ lovers. The factor that makes this rice special is the tart flavor of roasted gongura flavor which melds beautifully with mustard, fenugreek and red chilli spices yielding a sensational one pot rice dish. A complete vegetarian meal along side a bowl of yogurt and papad.
Gongura Pulihora Recipe
Prep & Cooking: 45-50 mts
Serves 4-5 persons
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Ingredients:
2 cups raw rice (cook such that each grain is separate, spread to cool)
1/2 tsp turmeric/haldi/pasupu
15-20 fresh curry leaves
salt to taste
2 cups red sorrel leaves, washed
1 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp methi seeds/menthulu/fenugreek seeds
2-3 dry red chilies, tear and de-seed
For tempering/poppu/tadka:
1 tbsp channa dal (split bengal gram)
1 tbsp urad dal/minappapu/split black gram
1 tsp teaspoon mustard seeds
1/4 tsp cumin seeds
1-2 medium dry red chilli
3-4 green chillis slit length wise
1/4 tsp hing/asafoetida/inguva
2 fistfuls roasted peanuts
3 tbsps oil
1 Sprinkle turmeric pwd, salt, a tbsp of oil and few fresh curry leaves to the cooked and cooled rice and keep aside.
2 Heat 1 tsp of oil in a pan, add the mustard seeds, methi seeds and dry red chillis and roast over slow flame till the methi turns red. Do not burn them nor under roast them. Remove from pan and cool.
3 In the same pan, add 3/4 tbsp of oil, add the red sorrel leaves and roast them on low flame till they wilt and lose their rawness. This should take about 7-8 mts. Remove from heat and cool.
4 Grind the roasted mustard seeds mixture to a coarse powder and then add the cooled red sorrel leaves and grind them together to a fine paste. Do not add water. Remove and keep aside.
5 Heat the remaining oil in a cooking vessel, add the mustard seeds and let them splutter. Add dry red chillis, cumin seeds, channa dal, urad dal and fry for a minute till light brown. Next add the slit green chillis, asafoetida and few curry leaves and fry for a few seconds.
6 Add this tempering along with red sorrel leaves to the cooled rice and combine well such that its spread all over the rice. Adjust salt. Finally sprinkle roasted peanuts and combine well. Let it sit for at least an hour for the flavors to set in. If you feel the rice needs more tart flavor, squeeze some lemon juice.
7 Serve with appadam/chips, majjiga mirapakaayalu (sun dried chillis) and yogurt. Makes for a complete meal.
